Florida State vs. Duke live stream, how to watch, TV channel, prediction, expert picks, kickoff time

No. 4 Florida State will hold its annual homecoming Saturday by playing host to a worthy ACC opponent in No. 16 Duke. The two top-20 teams meet in a contest that has plenty of ACC title race implications in Tallahassee, Florida. The Seminoles looked sharp in their 41-3 dismantling of Syracuse in the first game out of the off week, but there’s a step up in competition coming. Mike Elko’s Blue Devils are off to a 5-1 start with the only loss coming in the final minutes to Notre Dame. 

Florida State and Duke have a limited series history despite being conference members since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992, in part because of being in opposite divisions since 2005. Florida State has dominated the series with a 21-0 advantage, and the Blue Devils represent the most conference wins in a row without a loss for the Seminoles. Duke will be looking to reverse that series trend with a team that carries the program’s highest AP Top 25 ranking since October, 1994.  

With less than two weeks until the unveiling of the first College Football Playoff Rankings, Saturday night will be a key data point for how the selection committee stacks both teams up against the best in the country. Those implications, plus the head-to-head in an ACC title race that is without divisions for the first time in the championship game era, make FSU-Duke one of the most important games on the Week 7 slate. 

How to watch Florida State vs. Duke live

Date: Saturday, Oct. 21 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ETLocation: Doak Campbell Stadium — Tallahassee, FloridaTV: ABC | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)

Florida State vs. Duke: Need to know

Streaking Seminoles starting to hit vintage marks: For the first time since 2015, Florida State is 6-0 and 4-0 in the ACC. Its 12-game winning streak is the ACC’s longest actively and second all-time, set by the Seminoles at 17 games between 2012 and 2014. The most recent AP Top 25 marked its seventh consecutive week with a top-five ranking, the school’s longest streak since 2013-14. When Florida State is doing things that haven’t been done since 2014 (when it reached the CFP) or 2013 (when it won the national championship), things are looking awfully close to “back.” The Syracuse win started to get the Seminoles closer to that status. A Duke win would be significant. 

Duke’s defense among the nation’s best: The Blue Devils rank first in the ACC and fourth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 9.83 points per game, and are currently one of just 16 teams in the country allowing less than 300 yards per game. Part of that strength has been a secondary that Elko reinforced through the transfer portal with additions like Myles Jones from Texas A&M and Al Blades Jr. from Miami. That group, plus a tenacious defensive front, has caused havoc for opposing quarterbacks and produced the second-best pass efficiency defense in the country, trailing only Penn State. And while Duke’s defense is certainly the headline, the Blue Devils are a well-balanced team. Duke is the only team in the ACC averaging at least 30 points per game and allowing less than 15 points per game on defense. 

Jordan Travis’ place in the FSU record books: Though he started his career at another school, Travis’ time with the Seminoles has been so prolific that he’s already one the program’s all-time greats in the record books. He’s first in career touchdown responsibility (87), career rushing yards for a quarterback (1,848) and rushing touchdowns for a quarterback (28). Now, Travis has a chance to set more records and continue to climb in other key categories in this high-profile matchup against Duke. Travis is just 255 yards of total offense away from catching Chris Weinke for No. 1 in career numbers. Considering the Seminoles quarterback averages 266 yards of total offense per game, it’s quite possible he could move to No. 1 in that category as well on Saturday. 

Florida State vs. Duke prediction, picks

Picks via SportsLine consensus

This is the toughest defense that Florida State has faced since Clemson, and the Tigers did not allow the Seminoles to gain the lead until overtime. I think Duke has the personnel to disrupt Travis’ rhythm enough to keep it close, though with an X-factor like Keon Coleman the Seminoles should be able to avoid the outright upset. Pick: Duke +14

Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 8, and which underdogs will win outright? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread — all from a proven computer model that has returned more than $2,000 in profit over the past seven-plus seasons — and find out.